Alcohol plays a large role in the fabric of New Zealand society. Many of us will have a glass of wine or beer after work, one with dinner and maybe a third while watching TV. It’s pretty standard behaviour and hardly alcoholism. But what is healthy as a weekly total if you do that every day?
Before trying to determine what a reasonable weekly consumption looks like, it’s important to understand alcohol units. In New Zealand, one alcohol unit is defined as containing 10 grams of pure alcohol. Different alcoholic beverages have varying alcohol concentrations, which determine the number of units they contain. For example, a standard drink of beer often contains around 1.4 alcohol units, while a small glass of wine often contains around 1.6.
According to the Ministry of Health, the guidelines for healthy alcohol consumption are that men should aim for no more than 21 standard drinks per week (this would mean approximately 15 beers or 13 wines) and women no more than 14 standard drinks per week (this equates to around 10 beers or 9 wines) – that’s not all in one go obviously, but spread out over the week. The Ministry of Health also advises to have at least two alcohol-free days per week to allow your body to recover and maintain overall health.
At that level, many of us would find ourselves over the recommended limit. But given that we’re not rolling around drunk every weeknight, does it really matter? Well it might, over time. According to the Ministry of Health, Alcohol is one of the main preventable risk factors for a number of diseases, such as cancer, mental health conditions and other long-term conditions. According to Alcohol.org.nz (an alcohol information website launched and maintained by the Health Promotion Directorate within Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand) alcohol contributes to the development of over 200 health conditions that can affect our quality of life and is one of the biggest risk factors for cancers, stroke, cardiovascular diseases, assaults, falls, car accidents, and drowning.
So do we need to give up alcohol entirely to play it safe? Probably not. But being aware of your weekly total might not be a bad idea. Substitute that third drink for a sparkling water or no-alcohol beer; investigate lower-alcohol beer or wine options; make sure you do 2-3 days alcohol-free to give your body a break. As many of our mothers have said, “everything in moderation” and alcohol is one of those things it pays to be aware of. Like scrolling social media or mindlessly eating that bag of chips, drinking can become ingrained behaviour, and monitoring ourselves is often all it takes to keep things at a reasonable level.
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